Blue Jays 3, Royals 2

April 13, 2013|Reuters

Blue Jays 3, Royals 2: Jose Bautista homered and R.A. Dickey worked into the seventh inning as visiting Toronto overcame a stellar outing by James Shields to beat Kansas City for the second straight game.

After struggling in his first two starts, Dickey (1-2) allowed one run over 6 1/3 innings and earned his first win since joining the Blue Jays in the off-season. Casey Janssen allowed Alex Gordon's RBI single in the ninth before retiring Alcides Escobar for his third save.

Toronto took an early lead in the third on Munenori Kawasakiâs sacrifice fly off Shields (1-2), who limited the Blue Jays to three runs on two hits while throwing 115 pitches in a complete game effort in his home debut.

Kawasaki was called up Saturday to replace shortstop Jose Reyes, who suffered a severe left ankle sprain in Fridayâs 8-4 victory. Reyes, who was batting a team-high .395, is expected to miss the next three months.

Toronto added to its lead in the sixth when Bautista blasted a two-run shot after Kawasaki walked to lead off the inning. Kansas City responded with a run in the seventh when Jarrod Dyson doubled and stole third before scoring on Chris Getzâs bunt single.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Royals LF Alex Gordon went 2-for-5 and has a hit in 10 straight games. â¦Toronto CF Colby Rasmus turned in the defensive play of the game in the fourth inning when he made a running catch at the wall on a ball hit by Mike Moustakas. â¦ The Blue Jays have won eight of their last nine games at Kaufman Stadium.